“We can do anything with Charvel. Nothing is out of bounds. It is kind of sacrilegious to put a Floyd on a Strat, but that’s second nature on a Charvel. We take the guidelines and throw them out the window and do what we want. We glue funky woods together. We do awesome crazy graphics. The trends have changed over the years, of course, and we’re always changing with them. Lately we’re seeing a lot of cooked woods and natural finishes.” – Master Builder “Red” Dave Nichols

True to his words, the Charvel Master Built creations he revealed at the Custom Shop NAMM Show event were replete with Southern California quirkiness, hot-rod style and a solid dose of roasted woods. Here’s a quick look at 6 of his wonderful and whacky finished pieces …

Charvel San Dimas® Style 2 Cooked Ash

Elegance personified.

That’s the first thing that crosses the mind when you see this Charvel San Dimas® Style 2 Cooked Ash in all of its Natural wonder. The roasted ash body is paired with a caramelized flame maple neck, topped with an ebony fingerboard that plays as smooth as a coastal cruise along Highway 1.

Exotic woods come together to form this exquisite custom San Dimas Style 1 Exotic. A chambered body is topped with lightly figured mahogany while 5A flame maple lines the sides and back of the guitar. The multi-lam construction of the neck features a maple, walnut, flame maple, walnut to maple pattern and hosts a beautifully marbled pale moon ebony fingerboard.

The Charvel Dinky™ Carbon Fiber is at the forefront of axe technology. Sporting an alder body with a slick Matte Blue Frost finish, this pioneering model is ready to kick ass and take names with DiMarzio® humbucking pickups. The Tone Zone bridge pickup adds definition to your low-mid and bass notes, while the PAF Pro® slices through the heaviest gain with ease.

Contoured beveling around the butt and an expanded carbon fiber pickguard with cutouts for the volume and tone controls are a first for Charvel and give this axe added futuristic attitude.

This Charvel San Dimas Style 2 in classic Black with a scarlet red pickguard as well as matching red body binding and red Charvel headstock logo is in a league all its own. An instant attention drawer, this sexy axe features an alder body, bolt-on quartersawn maple neck, ebony fingerboard, Bare Knuckle Aftermath humbucking pickups, Hipshot Tele-style bridge and black hardware.

“We can do anything with Charvel,” Nichols said. “Nothing is out of bounds. It is kind of sacrilegious to put a Floyd on a Strat, but that’s second nature on a Charvel. We take the guidelines and throw them out the window and do what we want. We glue funky woods together. We do awesome crazy graphics. The trends have changed over the years, of course, and we’re always changing with them. Lately we’re seeing a lot of cooked woods and natural finishes.”

To commemorate four decades of hard-earned glory, Charvel proudly recreated 11 stunning Custom Shop models from Charvel’s original 1979 catalog offering. See these throwback models for the first time by watching the video below …

In advance of 11th studio album The Atlantic Jan. 25 drop date, Swedish dark prog metal masters Evergrey has debuted a new music video for its track “Weightless.”

Directed by Patric Ullaeus, the clip finds the band performing the track in the middle of a fiery blaze.

“This video is what you will get when watching us live pretty much,” stated the band. “Maybe minus burning down the drum kit every night! We’re really proud of ‘Weightless’ as it works as a phenomenal second chapter of The Atlantic drama.”

Frontman Tom S. Englund shared this about the making and direction of The Atlantic:

“We’ve fought through giant private obstacles as well as an extremely complicated break-in at our headquarters studio to bring this album to you. So at the same time as it’s certainly not been painless or at all easy, it’s been rewarding in new ways and our creativity has been painted in colors of honesty and sincerity.

“This is our heaviest, darkest, and perhaps also our most diverse album to date. It’s everything we wanted to compose and the written words come straight from a place of transparency and never before experienced lucidity. Finally, as of yesterday, we’ve reached new shores. We can’t wait for you to share this journey with us and dive into our worlds, our depths, and the waters of The Atlantic!”

Angel Vivaldi recently sat down for a Metal Injection Ask the Artist session where the axeman dishes on everything from his approach to writing new material to which artist he draws the most inspiration from.

“My music always starts with a concept,” explains Vivaldi, while also playing a quick riff on his custom 7-string Charvel. “The theme of whatever that record is about really dictates the dynamic and the intention behind what I am writing.”

And which famous artist inspires this metal maven the most? Vivaldi’s answer might surprise you.

“Hands down, Michael Jackson!” says Vivaldi. “His music, his albums, his music videos, his live performances … he just cared so much about everything he did.”